The first round of the Abu Dhabi talks has wrapped up after 4.5 hours.
With security guarantees expected to be the top agenda item, Russia said it also needs some guarantees, though the terms remain unclear, as both sides reportedly showed some flexibility. Interestingly, Budanov also had to sit face to face with Russia’s FSB chief, whose unit reportedly plotted to assassinate him. Meanwhile, the key outcome from the first day appears to be further discussions of POW swaps, with the US also urging Russia to bring Europe into the talks.
There were also moves on the sidelines – Sybiha met with G7 ministers to discuss support for Ukraine after meeting with Rubio, while he is also expected to meet with the South Korean foreign minister over the recent POW row.
We might also have the clearest picture of Russian casualties to date after hackers released death certificates from Russia’s statistics service. If the numbers are to be trusted, Russia probably had around 450,000 war deaths up until late August.
On a side note, our intelligence sources also told us about Russia's plans to hit Ukraine’s food industry, beyond the ongoing energy attacks that once again plunged us into darkness today.
By Leo Chiu
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